The improvement of speed and accuracy in typewritting

LB

7Z<^. 7

^CHANGE

THE IMPROVEMENT OF SPEED AND

ACCURACY IN TYPEWRITING

A dissertation submitted to the Board of

University Studies of the Johns Hopkins

University in conformity with the require-

ments for the degree of Doctor of

Philosophy

1922

BY

ROY EDWARD HOKE

BALTIMORETHE JOHNS HOPKINS PRESS

1922

THE IMPROVEMENT OF SPEED ANDACCURACY IN TYPEWRITING

THE IMPROVEMENT OF SPEED AND

ACCURACY IN TYPEWRITING

A dissertation submitted to the Board of

University Studies of the Johns Hopkins

University in conformity with the require-

ments for the degree of Doctor of

Philosophy

1922

BY

ROY EDWARD HOKE

BALTIMORETHE JOHNS HOPKINS PRESS

1922

&otoer* printing CompanpLEBANON, PA.

t^iAjjiX

TABLE OF CONTENTSJ

Chapters Page

Introduction 9

I. The Frequency of the Occurrence of Letters and

Marks in the English Language 11

II. Errors in Typewriting and Their Causes 20

III. Relative Abilities of the Eight Fingers and the

Two Hands for Typewriting 24

IV. The Finger and Hand Loads of the Present Type-

writer Keyboard 29

V. The Consideration to be Taken Into Account in

the Arrangement of an Ideal Keyboard Based

on Scientific Principles, and a Suggestion for

Such Keyboard 31

Bibliography 42

Vita 43

t) v'_> \f v ) /<£ O

INTRODUCTION

Some time ago the writer began work on the problem of

constructing standard tests in typewriting, such as have been

and are being formulated for the various subjects of the ele-

mentary and secondary school curricula. The first prelimi-

nary investigations, however, revealed the fact that there

were other typewriting problems which might logically claim

priority. First, since typewriting is a matter entirely of the

use of the letters of the alphabet and the various marks, it

seemed necessary to investigate the frequency of the occur-

rence of these letters and marks in the English language.

Secondly, since accuracy is one of the primary requisites of

good typewriting, it appeared to be important to investigate

the number and distribution of errors made in actual type-

writing, and to learn, if possible, their causes. Third, the

modern "touch" method of typewriting presumably makes

equal demands upon all the fingers and upon the two hands.

In fact, the typewriter keyboard is so arranged as to assign

fifteen letters to the left hand, and only eleven to the right.

The problem arises : what are the relative abilities of the

eight fingers and the two hands. Fourth, the determination

of the loads or burdens of work which the present typewriter

keyboard places upon the fingers and hands. Fifth, an at-

tempt to enumerate the considerations which must be taken

into account in the arrangement of a keyboard according to

scientific principles; a suggested keyboard, and the criticism

of the same from the considerations set forth.

The field of this investigation is one that has not been

cultivated. With the exception of the work by Book on

"The Psychology of Skill," little or no experimentation has

been done in typewriting. Even in Book's study, the object

was not so much the improvement of speed, accuracy or

methods of teaching typewriting, as it was the more general

aim of ascertaining, by the use of the typewriter as a mere

9

10 INTRODUCTION

bit of apparatus, the psychology of skill. Any other mechan-

ism, an adding machine or piano for instance, would have

been equally capable of use in a study of skill, though per-

haps not equally convenient for experimental purposes.

I. THE FREQUENCY OF THE OCCURRENCE OFLETTERS AND MARKS IN THE ENGLISH

LANGUAGE

The first objective of the problem under consideration is

to determine the frequency with which the various letters

of the alphabet and the more common marks are used in

the English language. For this purpose valuable material

was readily at hand as to the letters in the form of the Ayres

Spelling Scale. This scale itself informs us that the 1,000

words in the list are "the product of combining different

studies with the object of identifying the 1,000 commonest

words in English writing." The scale was formed by com-

bining four different vocabulary studies as follows: (1)

A study by Ayres himself involving a total of 23,629 words

found in personal and business letters. (2) The study of

Eldridge comprising 43,989 words found on two pages each

of four different newspapers. (3) The study of Rev.

Knowles of London, of the vocabulary of the English Bible

and various authors, to a total of 100,000 words. (4) The

study of Cook and O'Shea of the vocabulary used by thirteen

persons in family and social correspondence, including a

total of 5,200 different words. Most of these words occurred

a number of times. It will be seen, therefore, that the

1,000 words in the Ayres Scale are those that were found

most frequently in approximately 368,000 words of personal

letters, business letters, newspapers, the Bible, and various

English authors.

Accepting the 1,000 words of this list as the most commonin the English language, it would appear that by counting

the frequency with which the various letters of the alphabet

appear in these words, we should secure a very close approxi -

mation to their frequency in the English language in general,

and in the work done on typewriters in particular.

11

12 THE FREQUENCY OF LETTERS AND MARKS IN ENGLISH

Table I shows in the first column the gross number of

occurrences of each letter of the alphabet in the 1,000 com-

monest words. A total of 5,433 letters were found. The

average length of the words, therefore, is 5.433 letters. Bymultiplying the number of occurrences of each letter by

TABLE I

Frequency of Use of Letters in the Words of the AyresSpelling Scale

THE FREQUENCY OF LETTERS AND MARKS IN ENGLISH 13

Although the evidence thus secured for the frequencies

of letters seemed almost conclusive, it was nevertheless

thought desirable to support it by corroborative evidence

from original studies. With this purpose in view, three

studies were made on the frequencies of letters and punctua-

TABLE II

Frequency of Use of Letters and Punctuation Marks in theSixteenth Chapter of Mark's Gospel


raised to 1,000 for purposes of comparison. This was done

by multiplying the first column through by 3.69.

Table III shows the frequencies of use of letters and

punctuation marks in actual business letters. The first col-

TABLE III

Frequency of Use of Letters and Punctuation Marks in Busi-ness Letters

Times Used Raised to iooo


A comparison of the data of these three original studies

with Table I, which gives the frequency of letters only in

the Ayres Spelling Scale, with the letter "E" raised to 1,000

for purposes of comparison, will reveal much similarity both

TABLE IV

Frequency of Use of Letters and Punctuation Marks in aNewspaper Editorial


of correlation is .946 and the probable error is .012. The

product-moment formula was used in securing this correla-

tion.

It is of course possible that in any one study of the fre-

quency of letters the chance presence or absence of a few

words containing the less common letters, such as K, J, Q,

X or Z, may appreciably influence the result. This difficulty

TABLE VStudies on the Frequency of Use of Letters and Punctuation

Marks


while in the fifth column of the table we have the average

of the first four. This column is based on the counting of

12,130 letters of the alphabet in connection with the four

studies. The findings set forth in this fifth column

are accepted in this study as a basis for evaluating

the various letters and marks and their importance or fre-

quency in typewriting.

TABLE VI

Frequency of Use of Letters and Punctuation MarksPrinter's Fonts as Compared With Averages

Given in Table V

IN

Printer*


Rg.l Graphic Representation of the

Frequency of the Use of Letters.


Figure 1 shows graphically the frequency of the various

letters. The fact is that the first six letters (E, T, A, O, S, I)

are used more frequently than the remaining twenty letters.

The most startling observation is the fact that "E" is used

more frequently than twelve other letters combined (Y, B,

P, W, F, G, V, K, J, X, Q, Z). In view of these facts the

conclusion is very evident, viz., that the frequencies of the

letters must be taken into consideration and form the basis

for any scientific arrangement of the typewriter keyboard.

In further corroboration of the findings of this study as

to the frequencies of letters and marks, the custom of the

printing trade may be adduced. Table VI represents in the

first column the number of type of each letter included in

a large printer's font, the same for comparative purposes

being reduced to the basis of 1,000 for "E" by dividing

through by 12, and the results shown in the second column.

Our accepted findings are given in the third column. Even

a casual comparison of these data reveals so close an agree-

ment between them that a correlation by statistical methods

would be superfluous. It needs, however, to be borne in

mind that the printer's font supplies a somewhat larger

number of the less common letters and marks than would

be usually found necessary. Furthermore, the fact that in

the printer's font four letters (O, S, I, N) are given the same

rank, with 8,000 type each, indicates that we have here only

a rough approximation of usage, and that the evidence from

the make-up of the font is valuable for our purpose for

corroboration only and not for the definite evaluation of

letters.

II. ERRORS IN TYPEWRITING AND THEIRCAUSES

For the purposes of this part of our investigation about

500 full size pages of practice typewriting work were secured,

from approximately 100 different individuals, and the errors

found therein counted and tabulated up to the point where

"E" was charged with 1,000 errors. This point was reached

when all but three pages of the material had been checked.

The errors for the several letters are given in Table VII,

TABLE VII

Errors Made in Actual Typewriting as Compared With Fre-quency of Occurrence of Letters

ERRORS IN TYPEWRITING AND THEIR CAUSES 21

tionship between these two series of data is given in the

third column of Table VII, from which it will be seen that

twelve letters are as good or better than "E" from the stand-

point of accuracy, while thirteen rank below "E." The

median is 108.3.

The relationship between accuracy and frequency of use

may be definitely calculated by the use of the product-moment

formula. The coefficient of correlation is found to be .924

TABLE VIII

Comparison of Frequency of Use of Letters With Accuracy

22 ERRORS IN TYPEWRITING AND THEIR CAUSES

thirteen most used letters, in the lower half the thirteen

least frequent letters. In the first column the frequency of

use of letters is indicated by a plus sign for those letters

above the median in use, and a minus sign for those

below the median. In the second column a plus sign indi-

cates those letters above the median in number of errors,

and a minus sign those below the median in number of

errors. There are only two of the thirteen most commonletters which are below the median in number of errors,

and then by a very narrow margin. Also only two of the

thirteen least used letters are above the median in number

of errors, nor then by very large margins. In the third

column the plus sign indicates those letters which are above

the median in percentage of accuracy, while the minus sign

indicates those letters which are below the median in accu-

racy. With five exceptions out of the 26 letters, frequency

of use and accuracy go together, or infrequency of use with

inaccuracy. One of the five exceptions is by a negligible

difference.

We had expected to find that some keys, or rows of keys,

on the typewriter would be more accurate than others. The

findings contradict this expectation, and indicate that the

position of keys on the present keyboard exercises very little

if any measurable effect upon accuracy. It has not been

found possible to say with any degree of assurance that any

one position on the keyboard is better than any other from

the standpoint of accuracy.

A further study has been made to ascertain whether the

errors made in typing any letter are more likely to occur

in combination with certain letters than with others. Toanswer this question errors were tabulated until 100 had

been noted for "E," and in each case the letter after which

the error occurred was noted. The results of this study are

set forth in Table IX. This table should be read as follows

:

ERRORS IN TYPEWRITING AND THEIR CAUSES 23

TABLE IX

Errors and the Letters After Which They Occurred

E M20, L14, R12, N12, S6, T6, V5, H5, Z5, K3, F3, B3, 02, G2.T 010, A9, 18, S8, N4, C4, E3, F3, B3, U3, 03.R E16, 010, A10, M4, H3, P3.

A H10, T10, 04, W4, E3, D3, R2, C2, F2, M2, SI, VI.S E10, A12, 14, R4, U5, T2, 02, N2, B2.N N9, A8, 08, R3, U2, 12.

L8, R6, Y5, D4, T4, G2, H2, 02, E2, W2.1 H6, L5, P4, W2, M2, V2, R2, K2, A2, N2.D E12, 08, N4, L2, V2, Rl.L U6, P6, E4, F2, 02, A2, 12, G2, Rl, Bl.G Nil, E4, A4, T2, Rl, Ol.H W6, P5, C4, T4, G2, Al.M 06, 14, U2, E2, L2, R2, SI.

U 06, R4, B3, Y2, D2, Gl, HI.Y A6, N4, B3, T2, F2, R2, N2, H2, CI.C E8, A4, 12, N2, S2, Ul.V A5, 14, 04, N3, E2, Rl.W A8, S7.F A3, E2, 02, Nl.B R2, 12, M2, Ol, Ul.K 02, R2, 12, Nl, Al.P H3, 12, Ul, El.X A3, 02, 12, El.

Q E2.

J A2.Z D2, Al.

Tabulating from the above the errors made after each of the let-

ters we get the following: After E 81 errors, A 81, O 75, N 46,

R 45, I 34, H 32, L 31, M 30, T 30, S 25, U 22, P 18, B 15, W 14,

F 12, C 11, D 11, V 10, G 7, Y 7, K 5, Z 5, J 0, Q 0, X 0. Inspection

shows that this correlates very highly with the frequency of use of

letters, which would indicate merely that most errors happen after the

letters most frequently used because most trials occur, and therefore

most chance for error after the frequently used letters.

of the 100 errors made in writing "E," 20 occurred after M,14 after L, 12 after R, 12 after N, 6 after S, 6 after T,

5 after V, 5 after H, 5 after Z, 3 after K, 3 after F, 3 after

B, 2 after O, and 2 after G. It does not appear from a

study of these data that there is any connection between

accuracy and the combination of letters with which any one

letter may happen to be written. This serves only to con-

firm the conclusion that accuracy or inaccuracy is the

result of frequent or infrequent practice, due to frequent

or infrequent use of the letter.

III. RELATIVE ABILITIES OF THE EIGHTFINGERS AND THE TWO HANDS FOR

TYPEWRITING

For the purpose of determining the relative abilities of the

eight fingers and the two hands three studies were made.

The first of these studies was made upon 50 High School

girls; the second on 46 High School boys. In those two

studies the following method was used. The subjects were

instructed to hold the thumb of the right hand against the

center of the typewriter frame, in front of the space bar, and

to tap the letter "J" w^n tne first finger of the right hand

as rapidly as possible. Thirty seconds were allowed. Then

with the thumb of the left hand in the same position, the

subject tapped with the first finger of the left hand the letter

"F" for thirty seconds. Then in the same way, with the

right hand second finger "K," left hand second finger "D,"

right hand third finger "L," left hand third finger "S,"

right hand fourth finger" ;" left hand fourth finger "A,"

each for thirty seconds. The number of taps leaving their

impressions on typewriter paper in the regular way were

counted for each of the eight fingers of each of the 96

subjects.

The purpose of holding the thumb against the metal frame

of the typewriter was to eliminate, so far as possible, wrist

and arm movements, for it was desired to test only finger

abilities. It was found that by holding the thumb in this

position the subject was compelled to make the taps by relying

upon the fingers alone, as was desired for the purposes of

the experiment. The results of these two studies are set

forth in Tables X and XI.

24

RELATIVE ABILITIES OF FINGERS AND HANDS 25

TABLE XTapping Test on Typewriter—High School Girls

Showing Number of Taps Made by Each Finger in 30 Seconds

26 RELATIVE ABILITIES OF FINGERS AND HANDS

TABLE XI

Tapping Test on Typewriter—High School BoysShowing Number of Taps Made by Each Finger in 30 Seconds

Number ofSubject

Left HandFingers used

I3 | 2 |

Letters struck

Is | d |

Right HandFingers usedI

2 | 3I 4

Letters struck

i Ik | 1

1

2345

67

8910

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

2021

22232425

262728293031

32333435363738394041

4243444546

AveragesMedians

157124149

105

150

135

122129137

129

138

139103

126

94150

93181

134112

129112124

139100121

148

90123

129

114119

105

109

134113

121

137129

151

142

140

118159

124

130

169

142

154108

152

150138

158130121

143

140126172

79146

115

186

138|

143j

129|

128|

117

131

122

134139

101!

110|

134160

124117

152

163

145

163

193

151

138

141

125

155

96153

136186158

126

143

131

124141

|

139|

151!

142j

120|

128 I

131

184163

123

154

145

126

175

161

135

140155

121

148

94157

139

176

168

144

145

122

132

138

142

147165

108

133

131

RELATIVE ABILITIES OF FINGERS AND HANDS 27

An inspection of the medians in these two tables will

show that the eight fingers have about the same rank and

relative ability for the two sexes. The only noticeable sex

difference is in speed of tapping, with respect to which the

boys excelled the girls 24.6 per cent.

The third study was made of 42 college girls and 12

teachers of Frederick County, Maryland. In this study a

somewhat different method was pursued. The subjects were

required to tap for one minute with a pencil with the right

hand, then one minute with the left hand. The marks were

subsequently counted to get the scores. (A later study

showed that when the subjects attempted to count their taps

as they went, their speed was impeded. A few reported that

this served to increase their scores.) The subjects were

further required to tap for thirty seconds upon their desks

with each finger. Particular instructions were given as to

the position to be assumed : with the wrist resting upon the

desk (to prevent wrist movement in tapping) and with three

fingers also resting with their tips upon the desk. It wasfound that this position effectually prevented any wrist or

arm movement being used and secured records of the tapping

abilities of the fingers alone.

An inspection of the medians for the eight fingers in Table

XII shows that they very closely bear out the results of

the first and second studies as shown in Tables X and XI.

The three studies above involve a total of 190,410 taps,

made by 150 different individuals. It is believed that by

combining these three studies by the method of averages,

we may secure conclusions as to the relative abilities of the

fingers and hands which may be relied upon.

28 RELATIVE ABILITIES OF FINGERS AND HANDS

TABLE XII

Tapping Test—42 College Girls, 12 Teachers

Number ofSubject

Taps per min.

Right LeftHand Hand

Taps in 30 Seconds

RlILI || R2

IL2 R3 L3 || R4

IL4

1

23

45

67

8910

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

202122232425262728293031

3233343536373839

4041

424344454647

48495051

5253

54

355360446357443386382368324326

I

390

1 387

I

409

I

397

I

417

!334

I

398

I

359

I

363

I

342

I342

i400

I

352

I

326343294383367355322253374407309415354363340434392317281

290402332370

3061

291

367318340350314304175

254328312299273307299318314286331329378330372271

289309282265285291314310226334303326346344288205280292360340300

360| 280400| 380404| 342408 392374| 314314| 374408| 298472| 324

185

IV. THE FINGER AND HAND LOADS OF THEPRESENT TYPEWRITER KEYBOARD

Since the foregoing studies make it possible to state in a

mathematical form the relative abilities of the two hands and

the eight fingers, and the relative values of each letter and

mark, it would seem worth while first to raise the question,

what is being expected of the fingers and hands by the pres-

ent typewriter keyboard. We are assuming, of course, that

30 LOAD OF THE TYPEWRITER KEYBOARD

In accordance with the touch method each of the eight

fingers has its own proper keys, three for each finger except

the first finger of each hand which has six. Table XIII

gives for each finger the letters it strikes and their values,

and the sum of these, which is the finger load. These letter

values are taken from Table V. Denoting the fingers of the

right hand as Rl, R2, R3 and R4, and those of the left hand

as LI, L2, L3 and L4, we find their loads to be, in the

same order: Rl, 1,490; R2, 640; R3, 996; R4, 296; LI,

1,535; L2, 1,492; L3, 658; L4, 803. Adding these finger

loads for each hand we get the hand loads : for the right hand

3,422, for the left 4,488. In view of the fact that in Tables

X, XI and XII we found finger abilities to be not very

dissimilar, it is rather startling to find that Rl, LI, and L2are each, on the present typewriter keyboard, given more

than five times as much work to do as is given to R4. In

view, also, of the generally known fact that the index of

right-handedness may be roughly expressed by the ratio of

ten to nine, that is, that the ability of the right hand is

approximately one-ninth greater than that of the left, it is

surprising to find that the present keyboard gives a far

heavier load to the weaker member.

The question may be raised: Why are 100 strikes re-

corded for both the right and left hand Shift Key? This

was gotten by actual count, 200 being recorded. However,

whether the right hand strikes exactly half of them or not

will vary somewhat with the nature of the matter to be

written. When a letter on the left side of the present key-

board is capitalized the right shift key must be struck and

vice versa. Inasmuch as most of the letters are on the left

side of the keyboard and many of them the more frequent

in use, it is very probable that the right shift key is the more

frequently used. However, the total number will remain

the same and an equal division of the total 200, while not

entirely exact, is as near as can be gotten.

V. THE CONSIDERATIONS TO BE TAKEN INTOACCOUNT IN THE ARRANGEMENT OF ANIDEAL KEYBOARD BASED ON SCIEN-TIFIC PRINCIPLES, AND A SUG-

GESTION FOR SUCH KEY-BOARD

The several considerations which should control a scientific

rearrangement of the typewriter keyboard are the following

:

1. The measured abilities of the eight fingers and of the

right as compared with the left hand, should be taken into

consideration, and loads assigned in proportion to strength.

2. The measured frequency of use of the letters of the

alphabet and punctuation marks must be made the basis for

calculating the loads to be assigned to the several fingers.

3. In addition to the above there are certain pedagogical

considerations

:

(a) The most used letters should be assigned to the

"home" or guide keys, since on a keyboard so arranged the

work could be done with the fewest possible changes of

position of hands. Also the frequent use of these letters will

aid the pupil in the early fixing of these home-key positions.

(b) The next most used letters should be assigned to

those keys or positions which appear to be the favorable ones

from the standpoint of accuracy.

(c) Since beginners find it easier to use the first fingers

than the other fingers, and since the approved method of

teaching typewriting, as well as other subjects, is that of

proceeding from the easy to the more difficult, it is desirable

so to arrange the keyboard, by assigning several of the

vowels to the first fingers, that simple practice words and

sentences may be written by the beginner, even in the earliest

stages of the learning process.

For purposes of the first consideration, Table XIV as-

sembles the data from Tables X, XI and XII, i. e., the

median tapping abilities of the eight fingers of high school

31

32 AN IDEAL KEYBOARD

TABLE XIVComparison of Finger and Hand Abilities With the Loads of

the Fingers and Hands

Left Hand Right Hand

I 3 I4 Total

Mds. for H. S. Girls..! 106 I 119Mds. for H. S. Boys..| 127

|134

Mds. College Girls and|Teachers | 107

|103

Averages 1 113|

119

117145

12s129

119145

145136

119156

160145

130166

138145

126I

117164 151

104131

117128=1046

Multiplying these avs.by 7.56 to get idealtypewriting loads:....

The loads on the pres-ent keyboard are....

Percentage of over- orunder-load of the fin-

gers on present type-writer keyboard

855I

900I

803I

658I

—6.1I—26.9

975 1028 1097 1096 968

1492I 1535 II 1490

I640

I 996 I296

1+53- I +49.3 1 1 +35.8I—41.6 +.5 1—69.4

Left Hand Right HandTapping ability (190,410 taps by 150

individuals) 89,593 taps 100,817 tapsRatio: 88.87 to 100

Present load 4,488 taps 3,422 tapsRatio: 131.25 to 100

Per cent of over- or under-load 47.7

(over-load of left

hand as comparedwith right.)

girls, high school boys, and college girls and teachers, com-

bining the three by the method of averages and showing a

total of finger abilities of 1,046. Table XIV also includes

the present keyboard load from Table XIII. Dividing the

total keyboard load (7,910—the sum of 3,422 and 4,488 of

Table XIII) by the sum of the finger abilities (1,046, Table

XIV) we find that each point of finger ability must be multi-

plied by 7.56 so as to reapportion the whole load upon the

fingers in proportion to their abilities. Comparing the ideal

finger loads with the present finger loads, we find four over-

loads of 49.3, 53., 35.8, and .5; also four under-loads, 5.1,

26.9, 41.6, and 69.4.

Of the 190,410 taps made in this study, 100,817 were madeby the right hand, and 89,593 by the left, in equal time.

Therefore the ratio of the ability of the right hand to that

of the left is as 100 to 88.87, or approximately as ten is to

nine. This agrees with the findings of Bryan.* The present

*Brvan, American Journal of Psychology, 1892, V, 123-204.

AN IDEAL KEYBOARD 33

right and left hand loads in typewriting are 3,422 taps for

the right to 4,488 for the left, or a ratio of 100 to 131.25.

These data show an overload of the left hand of 47.7 per

cent as compared with the right hand, on the present type-

writer keyboard. The over-loads and under-loads discov-

ered are more graphically shown in Figure 2.

The criticism might perhaps be advanced that in combining

the measures of the tapping abilities of the several fingers

as obtained on the typewriter, with those obtained in tapping

on desks, two different, and for all we know, heterogeneous

sets of data are being added together. In reply to this sug-

gestion the following considerations are advanced and need

to be taken into account.

First, it should be borne in mind that the same purpose

was uppermost in these two sorts of experimentation, namely,

the attempt to get a mathematical statement of the com-

parative abilities of the several fingers. The two experi-

ments are alike in that both attempt to secure an accurate

count of the number of taps each finger can make in the

same period of thirty seconds, or of one minute.

Second, it is true that tapping on a desk is not, so far as

we know, the same thing as tapping the keys of a typewriter

in the ordinary use of that machine. But it is also true that

tapping the keys of a typewriter under the controlled situa-

tion, namely, with the thumb touching the frame of the

machine, beneath the space bar, may, for all we know, be

no more like the process of actual typewriting than is tapping

on a desk as described above. In fact, it may be that the

former more nearly approximates the actual process involved

in typewriting than does the latter. Both are controlled

situations, with the purpose of preventing an undue influ-

ence upon the outcome as a result of leaving the arm and

wrist free to do the tapping, instead of compelling the fingers

to do it.

Third, of the three sets of data which are combined in

Table XIV, the third (the results of tapping on desks) does

not differ more from either the first (the results for high


N *> *

*3

N K> ^-

« «c

J5b

§3

to o

1si

*


school girls tapping on typewriters) or the second (the

results for high school boys tapping on typewriters) than

the first differs from the second. Therefore, an argument

against including the third, because it differs from the first

and second, would be just as good an argument, so far as it

goes, for excluding either the first or second because it differs

from the other.

Fourth, the average scores for the fingers secured by com-

bining the three sets of data in Table XIV differ from the

scores which would have been secured by combining only

the two first sets of data of that table by only a little over

four per cent. So far as the relative abilities of the two

TABLE XVComparison of Finger-loads of Standard and Proposed Keyboards

With Ideal Loads


Fifth, the fact is generally known, especially among

pianists and typists, that the third finger is the least capable.

This fact is not so clearly revealed in the first two sets of

data of Table XIV as in the third. This may perhaps be

explained by saying that the third finger, in the case of the

experiment on the typewriter, being further removed from

the fixed point, the thumb, than was the first or second finger,

was perhaps aided somewhat in its tapping by the movement

TABLE XVI

The Accuracy of Horizontal Lines of Keys on Typewriter

Upper


data in the averages gives a truer estimate of the abilities

of the fingers than would be the case were these data omitted.

To return to the considerations which must be taken into

account in arranging a keyboard along scientific lines, it was

noted as one of the pedagogical considerations that the eight

most frequently used letters should be assigned to the home

keys, so far as this may be found to be possible without

overloading of fingers. Also, that several of the vowels

should be assigned to the first fingers, for the reason stated.

TABLE XVIIThe Accuracy of the Eight Fingers in Typewriting

(Percentages)

right handFingers 1 2 3 4

o 46y 141


of keys. In Table VIII we show that, with reference to

the individual letters, accuracy and frequency of use are

almost perfectly correlated. Table XVI, however, seems to

show that we have the greatest accuracy in the upper hori-

zontal line, with decreasing accuracy in the middle and

especially in the lower lines, to an extent that is not justified

by use or disuse. Since this is the case, it will be well to

assign the more frequently used letters, after the home keys

have been supplied, to the upper row of keys.

The second part of Table XVI, on the other hand, shows

differences in accuracy of fingers, that is, of vertical rows

of keys. The accuracy data are taken from Table XVII.

But while the accuracy of fingers seems to differ, it appears

from the table that this is due to the loads assigned to the

fingers and hands, rather than to qualities of the fingers

or hands themselves. For when the fingers are given their

rank for accuracy and for load, we find a close correlation.

The overloaded fingers tend to be inaccurate. In the case

of the two hands the evidence is even more clear. The right

hand with the smaller load has the better accuracy score.

The average frequency of use of letters written by the left

hand on the present keyboard is 291, by the right 280. So

far as the law of use goes, the left hand should be four

per cent more accurate than the right. Instead of this we

find the right hand 84% more accurate than the left. This

must be due to the over-load of the left hand.

This evidence tends to show that nearly half of the errors

made by the left hand in typewriting are preventable, since

they are due to the bad apportioning of the typewriting load

on the present keyboard.

A further important reason why the typewriter keyboard

should be scientifically rearranged is the self-evident fact

that maximum speed and ease of operation can never be

attained so long as some fingers are over-worked, while

others do not have a chance to contribute their full share

to the total result.


A rearrangement of the keyboard will, it is clear, make

for improved speed and accuracy in typewriting.

The present standard arrangement of the typewriter key-

board antedates the "touch" method of operating, which has

come to be the only accepted method in the teaching of type-

writing. Therefore the considerations, if any, which sug-

gested the present arrangement of the keyboard, do not apply,

but new considerations must be brought to bear which take

account of the fact that all of the fingers are to be used

and should contribute their share, no more and no less.

In accordance with the above considerations we offer the

preferred rearrangement of the letters and marks of the

typewriter keyboard shown in Figure 3.

In addition to the improvements in the arrangement of

the typewriter keyboard based on the investigations and

considerations hereinbefore set forth, Figure 3 shows certain

other changes from the conventional arrangement which

remain to be explained. These changes are (1) the inter-

posing between the right and left banks of keys of the shift

lock, shift, and back spacer keys, and (2) the placing of

the margin and tabular keys in the lower horizontal row of

keys, one at either end.

In general, it may be said, first of all, that both these

changes are made in an effort to make the keyboard arrange-

ment more compact, thereby bringing all keys within reach

of the fingers without unnecessary hand movements. These

keys are, for the most part, usually so placed on the type-

writer as to require the operator to remove the fingers from

the letter keys. Furthermore, the shift key, shift lock, and

back spacer are the heaviest keys on the typewriter. The back

spacer operates against the tension of the machine and is prob-

ably the heaviest key of all. The shift key and shift lock

usually lift either the carriage or the basket of keys. In

either case, the operation of these keys requires far more

force than the operation of the letter keys. It is felt, there-

fore, that these three keys should be placed in a central

position, as in Figure 3, so that they may be operated by the


thumb or first finger, rather than by the fourth finger, whose

strength is scarcely adequate. The margin release and tabu-

lar key are very light in touch, and not often used, so that

in assigning them to the fourth fingers, as in Fig. 3, we are

not unduly burdening these weak fingers.

The advantages of this arrangement are: 1. The keys in

question are brought into a convenient position for operation

by the thumb or first finger of either hand. 2. The entire

keyboard can be operated without removing the hands from

the position they take when the fingers are placed upon the

"home keys," as the keys of the middle horizontal row of

letters are called in touch typewriting. 3. The interposition

of the shift, shift-lock and back spacer keys divides the

keyboard into right and left halves, thereby tending to avoid

errors and undesirable hand movement resulting from the

encroachment of one hand on the territory of the other. 4.

The interposed keys accentuate the importance and make

necessary the confining of each hand to its appropriate bank

of keys, with a minimum of movement for complete perform-

ance of the entire duty assigned it. These four advantages,

together with all the other advantages claimed for the key-

board as shown in Figure 3, may be summed up, in a general

way, by saying that this keyboard is definitely planned for the

most accurate and economical operation by the touch method,

the method which is now being taught in practically all

schools, whereas the present conventional, so-called standard

and universal keyboards have been arranged with reference

to no discoverable or known criteria whatsoever.

BIBLIOGRAPHYAyres, Leonard P. (1915.) Measuring Scale for Ability in Spell-

ing. Russell Sage Foundation, New York.(1912). The Spelling Vocabularies of Personal and Busi-

ness Letters. Russell Sage Foundation, New York.Book, W. F. (1908). The Psychology of Skill: With Special

Reference to Its Acquisition in Typewriting. University of

Montana Publications in Psychology; Bulletin No. 53. Psycho-logical Series No. 1.

Bryan, W. L. (1892). On the Development of Voluntary MotorAbility. American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 5, pp. 123 ff.

Bryan and Harter. Studies in Telegraphic Language. Psycho-logical Review, Vol. 6.

Burk, F. (1898). From Fundamental to Accessory in the Develop-ment of the Nervous System and of Movements. PedagogicalSeminary, Vol. 6, pp. 5-64.

Cook and O'Shea (1914). The Child and His Spelling. Indian-

apolis, Ind.

Eldridge (1911). Six Thousand Common English Words. NiagaraFalls, N. Y.

Fritz and Eldridge. Expert Typewriting. American Book Com-pany, New York.

Gordon, Kate (1917). Educational Psychology. Henry Holt andCompany, New York.

Gould, G. M. (1908). Right-handedness and Left-handedness. J. B.

Lippincott Company, Philadelphia.

Judd, C. H. (1915). The Psychology of the High School Subjects.

Ginn and Company, New York.Knowles, Rev. J. (1904). The London Point System of Reading

for the Blind. London, England.Owen, Margaret B. (1917). The Secret of Typewriting Speed.

Forbes and Company, Chicago.Parker, S. C. (1915). Methods of Teaching in High Schools. Ginn

and Company, New York.Ross, J. W. (1921). Typewriting Manual. Rowe Publishing Com-

pany, Baltimore, Md.SoRelle, Rupert P. and Cutler, Ida McL. Rational Typewriting.

The Gregg Publishing Company, New York.SoRelle, Rupert P. Methods of Teaching Typewriting. The Gregg

Publishing Company, New York.Starch, D. Periods of Work in Learning. Journal of Educational

Psychology, Vol. 3, pp. 209-213.

Thorndike, E. L. Practice in the Case of Typewriting. Pedagogi-cal Seminary, Vol. 20, pp. 516-529.

(1914). Educational Psychology: Briefer Course. TeachersCollege, Columbia University.

Wilson, D. (1891). The Right Hand: Left-handedness. The Mac-millan Company, New York.

Washburn, M. F. (1916). Movement and Mental Imagery. Hough-ton Mifflin Company, New York.

Woodworth, R. S. (1903). Le Mouvement. Paris.

Accuracy of Voluntary Movement. Psychological ReviewMonograph 3.

Woolley, H. B. The Development of Right-handedness in a Nor-mal Infant. Psychological Review, 17. 1910, pp. 37-41.

VITA

Roy Edward Hoke, son of Edward John and MaryMargaret Hoke, born at York, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1896.

Grammar school education was received in Lancaster, Pa.,

Lewistown, Pa., and Newark, N. J. College preparatory

course was taken in the Boys' High School, Lancaster, Pa.

Attended Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa.,

1912 to 1916, received the A.B. degree. The A.M. degree

was received in the following year, 1917. Was elected a

member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society in the Theta Chapter

upon graduation in 1916. Taught during the school year

1916-1917 in the Columbia Grammar School, New YorkCity. During the following year attended the Theological

Seminary of the Reformed Church in the United States, at

Lancaster, Pa. Enlisted in the U. S. Army May 30, 1918,

serving as Assistant Chaplain with the rank of Sergeant, at

Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., receiving honorable discharge Janu-

ary 13, 1919. Attended Johns Hopkins University during

the years 1919-1920, 1920-1921. Ordained into the Chris-

tian ministry of the Reformed Church August 14, 1919,

and installed Pastor of the Reformed Charge, Jefferson,

Md. At the University courses were pursued in Education,

Psychology and Philosophy, under the instruction of Prof.

Edward F. Buchner, Prof. Knight Dunlap, Prcf. A. O.

Lovejoy, Dr. David E. Weglein, Dr. Henry Slonimsky, and

Dr. Florence E. Bamberger, to each of whom the writer

is indebted, and hereby expresses his appreciation.

The improvement of speed and accuracy in typewritting

Documents

Transcript of The improvement of speed and accuracy in typewritting